Essence of Decision for individuals

I remember 'Essence of Decision' well when I was reading for my Master's degree in Strategic Studies. It was and still is an excellent study into the Kennedy administration's management of the Cuban Missile Crisis in those fateful days of October 1962. That book remains on the required reading list of students of Strategic Studies, as it is a powerful analysis into a moment in history, when the world could have plunged into World War 3, if information, intuition and urgency of time did not converge as fortuitously for Mankind.

Less 'global' but no less dramatic are the situations of individuals and teams we often meet in the course of our work, who experience difficulties in coming to grips with making personal and team decisions. At the heart of these difficulties is the decision-making process itself.

Based on our work in studying thinking preferences, decisions may not yield the results because the process has either:

a. taken in too much data, leading to a gridlock situation for the decision-maker,

b. taken in too little data, so while the decision is made fairly swiftly, it does not fully completely satisfy the situational requirements,

c. not taken account of current reality, so the decision is rendered impracticable,

d. not sufficiently bold or imaginative, so the decision's effectiveness is limited.

We use a 4-step model to improve individual decisions:

a. Firstly, gather the facts about the situation and analyse them

b. Brainstorm a few decision outcomes that are favourable or desired, within the constraints established by the facts

c. Select the outcome that is likely to yield the greatest benefits from the list previously brainstormed. Set up an action plan to achieve the outcome.

d. Review the plan and anticipate its effects on people and their reactions before implementation. If 'collateral damage' is not worth the implementation, then you might want to start from step (b) again.

Individual decision-making is tied closely to thinking styles. By using developmental assessment tools like the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument and the Emergenetics profile, individuals can determine their decision-making style and be coached to improve the way they arrive at decisions.

Noel Tan

Resident Philosopher

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